The evening of Tuesday, June 8, at the Italian Cultural Institute revolved around the exploration of Italian literature, a journey that began with Leopardi and ended with contemporary writers like Moresco and Saviano.
Director Tina Cervone provided the introduction to the evening’s central theme: the relationship between this group of writers and the Italian community.
Professor Carla Benedetti, Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature at the University of Pisa and currently Visiting Professor of Theory of Literature at the University of Chicago, guided the audience on this literary excursion.
The connecting thread linking the various writers is their analytical stance towards Italy, and the often problematical relationship that they have with their country. This dynamic between Italian intellectuals and their homeland is a longstanding one that can be traced back to Italy’s very first literary production.
Even before Italy’s unification, Giacomo Leopardi, in his essay Discorso sopra i costumi presenti degli italiani (1824-26), finds a disillusioned indifference among Italians that leads inevitably to evil and immorality. In fact, for Leopardi, illusions and dreams are positive rather than negative things because they push people towards great achievements.
Despite his profound pessimism, Leopardi cared passionately about civic life, as did Pier Paolo Pasolini. His grim diagnosis of the Italian situation was accompanied by a civic minded outrage. Exactly like his predecessor Leopardi, Pasolini doesn’t fight against a powerful political entity; rather, he attacks a prevailing ethos of indifference and cynicism.
Time passes but the tense, occasionally conflictual relationship that writers have with their country remains the same. Antonio Moresco is also witness to this, deconstructing contemporary Italy through his writing in terms that recall, in some respects, Roberto Saviano. Famous for his book Gomorra, Saviano’s point of view is in sync with that of the two previous writers. Once again, accompanying the critical spirit that animates the work of these writers we find a consistent appeal to humanity’s capacity to dream of better things.
In concluding this literary excursion, Carla Benedetti presented the journal Il Primo Amore. Founded in 2006 by a group of writers including Scarpa, Antonio Moresco, Carla Benedetti herself and the photographer Giovanni Giovannetti, each number is dedicated to a particular theme that is analyzed through text and images. The journal seeks to combine the critical approach of Italy’s literary tradition with the positive and powerful aspects of ‘Leopardiane’ illusions.
This presentation sparked a lively debate that engaged an audience interested in studying all the various aspects of Italian culture that had been analyzed during Professor Benedetti’s conference.